Basketball Genes: Merryville’s Avery Cournoyer the family’s latest shooting star
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Merryville High basketball coach Stormy Fortenberry has enjoyed a front-row seat to the evolution of junior guard Avery Cournoyer’s career that dates to her time in the town’s Little Dribblers program.
“Being family, we knew she could play,” said Fortenberry, whose mother and Cournoyer’s mother are sisters. “We know it’s in our blood.”
Their grandmother, Bennie Stark, taught at Merryville High and coached girls’ basketball and track for 21 years. Cournoyer’s mother, Mandi, played collegiate basketball at St. Edward’s in Austin, Texas, while her older sisters, Rayne, played at Southern Arkansas, and Andrea, who is recognized by MaxPreps as the nation’s third all-time leading scorer with 5,546 points, played collegiately at UL and Samford.
Cournoyer’s hoop dreams began at 5-years-old as part of the Little Dribblers program in her hometown of less than 1,000 people. With terrific athletic genes that also includes her dad Mike’s baseball career at St. Edward’s, it’s easy to understand the niche Avery has carved out in the small Beauregard Parish town.
In her fifth season as a varsity starter, Avery has scored 3,033 points, twice earned Class 1A All-State honorable mention status, and, better yet, has the Lady Panthers on the doorstep of their first state championship.
“We all love basketball, and it’s made me who I am and the player I’ve become,” Cournoyer said of her family.
Cournoyer played a big role in Merryville’s 55-52 Division IV non-select semifinal victory over Arcadia on Monday. The second-seeded Lady Panthers (26-8) meet top-seeded Midland (28-7) in Friday’s state championship game at noon at Southeastern Louisiana’s University Center in Hammond.
This marks the school’s first appearance in a state final since 2018.
“We’re all happy to be there,” Cournoyer said. “I don’t think any of us are ready to settle down and just give it to them. We’re all going to fight. By the time we get on the court, they’ll realize we want to go home with a gold trophy at the end of the day.”
Cournoyer grew up around the game during an impressionable stage in her life. Nine years younger than Andrea, Avery attended every one of her sister’s games – home and away – and especially during the special time of postseason play.
“That alone made a big shift for me because I was watching her play,” she said. “I still remember her doing things, and I was in the gym, and that affected me.”
The Little Dribblers program, which has been the launching point for so many kids in Merryville, served as a foundation for Cournoyer, who was later impacted by her sister’s career. That exposed her at a young age to high school basketball, experiencing a cross-section of environments that played a role in her visualizing being the star and leading the Lady Panthers one day to a state championship.
By the time she reached Merryville, a Pre-K through 12th grade school, Avery was a manager for the varsity basketball team as a fifth grader and regularly practiced with the team for two years.
“We knew then she was going to take a starting spot when she was eligible,” Fortenberry said. “We’ve done that ever since she did it. We try to get our managers to practice with us when they can. We said Avery did it. It seemed to work.”
Avery’s passion for sports was genuine, a flicker that was lit growing up in a sports-oriented household.
“I love the game, I think we all do,” she said. “At times, it’s definitely a love-hate relationship. Everyone in my family loves sports … loves basketball. We do get competitive. When we do try and play every once in a while, it doesn’t last super long because it will end in an argument. Being around my family so much, seeing them be so motivated to their sports, that’s pushed me and shown me that I wanted to try that too.”
Fortenberry, in her eighth season since replacing Vic Ortiz, whom she had served under for two years as an assistant, had an idea Cournoyer was ready for the varsity level at the tender age of 12.
“I got to watch her play Little Dribbler growing up,” she said. “You’re able to watch and see which kids are going to be a player. She stepped right into a starting role as a seventh grader. Her role has changed over the years. She could catch and shoot, and knock down the 3. Each year we’ve added more responsibilities, and she’s taken it on like a champ. She’s just a phenomenal athlete across the board. It’s fun and exciting to coach.”
The 5-foot-5 Cournoyer averaged 11.6 and 14.8 points in her first two seasons and was part of teams that advanced to the state semifinals and regionals, respectively.
The patent Cournoyer shooting ability, her sister Andrea was renowned for, especially from 3-point range, was on display, and she was able to impact different facets of the game.
“She’s been a shooting guard and has had to fill roles as kids graduated,” Fortenberry said. “She worked her tail off year-round with basketball. She worked really hard with her ball handling and took over the point guard role as a freshman. One year, we were low on numbers, and she had a lot of pressure that was placed on her.
“Avery was able to handle the ball and score,” Fortenberry said. “This was the first year she didn’t have to have all of the pressure of bringing the ball up and try to score. We have some kids around her to help her do that, and hopefully, not as much pressure has been put on her.”
Given the trajectory of her career, Cournoyer helped herself immensely after she completed the high school season. She joined the Lake City Pride AAU program in seventh grade and played with them for three summers, and noticed a return on her investment.
Players were bigger, stronger, and faster than she had encountered in Class 1A, a testament to her willingness to take her game to another level by facing greater competition.
“It’s helped so much,” she said of AAU play. “You’re around a higher level of players, people who are athletic and faster than you see every day. That’s really helped because you have to play better if you want to do well.”
Cournoyer played last summer with Cy-Fair Premier out of Houston and is set to play with the same organization’s Lake Charles-based team this summer.
“You’ve seen so many good players that you’re not as scared,” she said. “Last summer, I saw so many players I had seen on ESPN. Those are the type of players you see in AAU. It’s helped tremendously.”
Avery’s never tried to live in her sister Andrea’s shadow, which can be impossible to avoid.
Andrea was a three-time All-State selection and a two-time MVP as a sophomore and junior, averaging 32 and 34 points a game, respectively. She increased that to 35.4 points as a senior to raise her seven-year scoring total to 5,546 points.
The National Federation of High Schools only recognizes four-year careers and lists Andrea with 4,041 points to rank 13th all-time. There are seven girls from Louisiana who made the list, with Gibsland-Coleman’s Missy Thomas fourth with 4,506 points.
“I’ve tried to go against her,” Avery said of Andrea. “I knew how good she was and how good of an athlete. She’s still in shape. I still try to go against her. She’s still good and knows the game.”
Avery’s impact grew during her freshman season, averaging 19.2 points, along with her ball-handling duties. Her quickness became evident where, if guarded tightly, could blow by defenders to get to the rim.
Defensively, her instincts resulted in creating the kind of havoc that turned into uncontested layups.
“Her athleticism is insane; she’s very quick,” Fortenberry said. “Not very many kids can just stop her from getting the basketball. She’s always done a good job of getting open. Her quickness is her greatest strength to get an edge on people. Once she gets the basketball and starts to push it up the floor, it’s hard to catch her. There’s been a handful of people that have given her a hard time. She’s still able to get the basketball in her hands and do her thing.”
Avery began to notice the kind of respect reserved for upperclassmen with longevity of scoring.
Defenses started paying closer attention to her in the eighth grade, a sign she was becoming the next shooting star in the family’s basketball orbit.
“I’m competitive and want to win,” she said. “My competitiveness made me want to keep working and finding things to improve on. I tried working on new moves that I saw on the internet. I tried to incorporate those into my game. You can’t be complacent. If you have big plans, and I do, you can’t be complacent. It’s always kept me driven.”
That drive and competitiveness spilled over to track and field, where Cournoyer began competing for Merryville in the seventh grade.
She qualified for the Class 1A state meet for four consecutive years in the 100 and 300 hurdles, 4×400 relay, and triple jump. She has been a state runner-up in the triple jump and third in both the 100 and 300 hurdles.
Cournoyer began reaching substantial milestones, achieving 1,000 career points as a freshman. She got to 2,000 the following season and surpassed 3,000 during the regular season.
“I’m not dead set that I’ve got to get this every game, to score this or have this amount of points,” Cournoyer said. “It’s probably in the back of mind, but I’ve been through so many phases of my basketball career that’s led up to that. It’s not necessarily my job to score. It’s a big part of my role.
“There are different phases of my career that have put a lot of emphasis on that,” Cournoyer said. “There have been years where it may have been me and one other player, and everyone else had different roles. Next year we’ll have so many people contributing, and that will be a good thing.”
Merryville advanced to the state quarterfinals last season, where they were derailed by Midland, 50-37.
Cournoyer, a first-team All-District 4-1A choice three times, earned her second spot on the Class 1A All-State honorable mention list after a career-high 26.7 scoring average. She’s enjoyed two games of 40 points against East Beauregard and DeRidder in her career and had a season-high 37 in an 81-41 quarterfinal win over Mangham.
“We depend a lot on her,” Fortenberry said. “When she goes, we kind of go. It’s a domino effect. We rely on her scoring for sure.”
Cournoyer knew her fifth season as a starter would be different. Of the 11 players on the team, she’s one of four who are actually in high school.
The Lady Panthers, who have won 69% of their games (111-51) with Cournoyer in the starting lineup, have one senior in Miranda Williams and another junior in Kasside Wing, but rely on a group with three starters who are in eighth grade and a freshman reserve.
“It’s a little wild this year,” Fortenberry said. “This isn’t your normal situation. Avery had to step into that leadership role to help and guide those babies, although they’re not babies anymore. To watch her turn into that into being a leader, encouraging the girls has been unreal. I’m just in awe of her leadership skills.”
Cournoyer was ready to display more than her patent jumper, dazzling moves, or defensive prowess. Her background and previous experiences made her the perfect candidate to lead this year’s team that won 14 of its last 15 games of the regular season.
“We knew coming in that we were younger,” she said. “We all knew it would be challenging. It’s hard for anyone, no matter what. You still have to play the game. We knew we had the talent even though we were younger. Things got rough every now and then in June, but obviously, we pushed through.
“I’ve been playing for quite a bit,” she said. “I know exactly how it feels to be a young role player and not sure what to do. It makes it better for me to be able to tell them that it’s OK. I can walk them through things. They may be a little unsure at times. That’s shown I can be a good leader because my journey has been long.”
Cournoyer, who also has 681 steals, 617 rebounds, and 434 in her career, has averaged 23.1 points this season with 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals, and 2.5 assists – a result of her ability to find open teammates when opposing defenses converge on her.
In her team’s semifinal victory, the 17th in 18 games, Cournoyer added six assists, four rebounds, and drew seven fouls – leading to her 6 of 6 showing in the fourth quarter at the free throw line.
“That is a big part of my game,” she said. “Because I’m on the smaller side in the grand scheme of basketball players, I am quick. If they’re there but not quite set, that’s a foul. I have to be smart on where I put the ball when I shoot. I can be a little out of control at times, and I’ve tried to work on that.”
Three days of preparation filled the gap for a team that traveled back to Hammond for an opportunity at glory.
Cournoyer has done her best to convey a sense of calm, trying to help her teammates relax before tipping off against an opponent responsible for the end of their season a year ago.
“I would like to play college ball one day,” Cournoyer said. “Right now, my dream has always been to win a state championship. I plan on getting it done this year, and I have next year as well. If we don’t get it done this year, I’ll keep working for next year.
“It’s go time, there’s no messing around,” Cournoyer said. “You have to have fun, that’s the biggest thing. You still want to win. I know what kind of player I am. Whatever happens, happens. I just need to calm down and let the game come to me.”